Brad Stevens: 'Rondo is the guy that leads' the Celtics

By Bill Doyle, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Thursday

Oct 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM

PROVIDENCE — New Celtics coach Brad Stevens is not planning to name a captain, but he said after Wednesday's 103-102 preseason loss to the New York Knicks at the Dunkin' Donuts Center that Rajon Rondo would clearly be his choice if he did.

"There's no question that Rondo is the guy that leads the team," Stevens said.

The Celtics have had captains since 1950. Paul Pierce served as captain for 13 years, tying Bob Cousy for the longest tenure with the Celtics, before he was traded to Brooklyn last summer. So why hasn't Rondo officially been named captain yet?

"I've never done official captains," said Stevens, who coached six years at Butler University before joining the Celtics this season. "If that's something that's important or we need to do or we need to talk about, then we can do that. He's the guy that sits in the middle when we stretch, he's the guy that's been here, he's done that. So if we had to name one, he'd be the one."

Rondo isn't expected to play until December while recovering from knee surgery. He watched from the bench Wednesday while the subs rallied in the fourth quarter and nearly pulled out a victory.

The Knicks led, 92-69, with 8:13 left, but Chris Babb, a rookie guard from Iowa State, scored all 12 of his points in the final eight minutes to ignite a late Boston rally. Phil Pressey drove for a layup to put the Celts on top, 102-101, with 22.4 seconds left after MarShon Brooks blocked Tim Hardaway Jr.'s shot.

Hardaway hit a jumper from the corner over Brooks to put New York back on top, 103-102, with 8.2 seconds left. Babb's drive for the victory was blocked in the closing seconds.

Celtics fans must have been thinking "a little Babb will do ya."

"Chris Babb has been one of the best workers, had one of the best attitudes, and been one of the best teammates in there from day one," Stevens said. "So it was not a shock at all when he went in and did what he did. We have been huge fans of his since he walked in the building."

"I've got a lot to prove," Babb said. "One game is not going to do it. I'm still going to continue to bring that hard work."

Green is 3-in-1

After Jeff Green made only 2 of 7 shots and scored just 6 points in Boston's 97-89 loss to Toronto in its preseason opener Monday, Stevens realized he was asking him to do too much. Instead of expecting Green to play three positions while learning a new system, Stevens decided to have Green focus on one or two positions. But he's not sure which positions those will be yet.

Green, who scored 10 points Wednesday, said he'd play whatever position(s) Stevens wants, but he admitted he found it difficult trying to learn how to play shooting guard in addition to both forward positions.

"Most definitely," Green said. "I mean, there are so many schemes, so many things out there to know. We talked about it, and I told him I'm still willing to take on that challenge because with my versatility, we can have mix-match problems and put the advantage on our side. It's all a work in progress."

Green did not start Wednesday.

"But that has nothing to do with Jeff," Stevens said. "It's completely to do with what we want to just tinker with, but he's doing fine."

Brooks feeling better

Jordan Crawford was not with the Celtics due to a death in his family.

Brooks played his first game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center since he graduated from Providence College three years ago.

Brooks scored eight points, just 44 less than his career high in this building. He scored 52 points here against Notre Dame his senior year. He's not sure what role he'll play in his first year with the Celtics.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," he said. "Everybody is trying to find their roles. A lot of guys on this team trying to prove themselves, a lot of young players."

Brooks left practice Tuesday with a migraine, but he said he felt better before Wednesday's game. Brooks has suffered from migraines since his freshman year in high school, but not as often in recent years. Bright lights usually cause them. He said the one he had Tuesday was a bad one.

Vitor Faverani played an impressive first half, making 4 of 5 shots to score 9 points in eight minutes and he finished with 13.

Gerald Wallace scored 10 points in the first half, but sat out the second half with his left foot wrapped in ice. Stevens said Wallace should be able to play the next preseason game Friday against the Sixers in Delaware.